“Yes, Isla Steele. She was brought in by Charlotte …”
“Yes. Doctor Charlotte Rowe. She’s my girlfriend,” I confirmed, pulling Charlotte closer.
“Okay. Isla’s just with the doctors now.”
“Is she okay?”
“She was unresponsive when she was brought in …”
“But is she okay?”
Charlotte pressed herself against me, her warmth seeping into my skin wrapping around me like a hug.
“She’s awake and being assessed. If you could give me a moment, I’ll see if you can come back,” she explained before heading through the door, leaving me standing there praying for good news. A minute later, the longest minute of my life, she returned and told me I could come through. When I went to bring Charlotte with me, the nurse explained only one of us could go.
Glancing over at Charlotte, she was already untangling her fingers from mine and stepping back. She was doing the right thing. She always did the right thing.
“Go. Isla needs you,” she encouraged, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek.
“What about you?” I didn’t want to leave her out here alone. God knows what happened, I’d get to the bottom of that later, but I knew Charlotte well enough to know she was blaming herself.
“I’m fine. I’ll be here. Now go.” Charlotte smiled at me, but it was pasted on and completely fake. It didn’t reach her eyes and it made my heart hurt.
“Keep your phone on you,” I instructed before letting the nurse lead me through.
I had no idea how many times I’d been inside an emergency room. The sounds of the machines, the hushed conversations, the howls of pain, the sobs of despair, all of it was so familiar to me, but at the same time, I’d never experienced it from this side. I’d always been the one there to help. To help bring someone in as quickly as possible to make sure they were okay. But this time I wasn’t anyone special, despite the fact I was still in uniform. I was just one of the masses holding my breath praying someone I loved walked out of here.
“Through here,” she directed, yanking back the curtain.
I stepped though the gap and I swear my heart stopped beating.
There, lying on the bed was my beautiful, precious Isla. She was hooked up to machines, she had a mask over her mouth and her eyes were closed. If it wasn’t for the monitor beeping steadily with her heart rate you would’ve thought she hadn’t made it.
Shaking my head, I knew I couldn’t think like that. I had to stay positive. I had to believe. No matter what, I had to be the strong one.
“Isla,” I cooed softly as I stepped toward the bed and reached for her hand.
Touching her fingers, I was surprised how cold they were.
When her eyes fluttered open and landed on me, I almost threw myself on the bed and hugged her. “Dad?” her strained voice replied.
“Sweetheart, I’m here,” I assured her. Or maybe I assured myself.
“Wh-what happened? Where’s Charlotte?” Isla asked, trying to sit up.
On the other side of the bed, the nurse was writing something on her clipboard before turning to check on Isla when her heart rate spiked.
“Hey. You’re okay. Just lay here for now,” I tried to calm her, pushing on her shoulder and keeping her still. “You’re at the hospital.”
“What happened?” she asked again.
“You collapsed. Don’t you remember?”
“We had milkshakes. And cupcakes,” Isla explained. “Charlotte took me to the park. Where’s Charlotte?” she asked again.
“She’s waiting outside. You scared us, sweetheart.”
“Dad?”
